


Wait for You

by ineffablenerd15



Series: All My Love Belongs to You [2]
Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Bromance, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Cranks (Maze Runner), F/F, F/M, Love Confessions, M/M, Paradise (Maze Runner)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:54:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28988820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ineffablenerd15/pseuds/ineffablenerd15
Summary: Thomas and the remaining Gladers finally made it to Paradise but Thomas misses Newt. He finally gets to see Newt again but it comes at a price that some might not say is worth it.
Relationships: Harriet/Sonya | Elizabeth "Lizzy" (Maze Runner), Minho & Thomas (Maze Runner), Newt/Thomas (Maze Runner)
Series: All My Love Belongs to You [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2111136
Comments: 1
Kudos: 28





	Wait for You

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry?

“Hey, Thomas!” Minho says with a wave. He jogs over, his dark hair flying in the breeze. “Brenda and Sonya said they found something out west. They want to know if you’ll go check it out with them.” 

After the remaining Gladers had made it to Paradise, Thomas had been nominated as the leader. He wasn’t quite sure why. Minho was the one who led everyone through the Scorch. Harriet had been the leader of the girls in the Maze and the Scorch but even she had also agreed that Thomas made a better leader. He wasn’t quite sure why. Her confidence in him made him feel better about it, though.

“Yeah, I’ll go. Just give me a mo,” Thomas replies, standing up from the log he was sitting on. He quickly packs his bag before joining the two girls. Sonya smiles at Thomas, her smile reminding him of the boy he had lost. He looks away, focusing on Brenda instead. He feels bad for treating Sonya the way he does but he can’t help but see Newt every time he’s near the girl. 

“Ready?” Brenda asks, chewing on her lip. Thomas gives a small nod, watching her fingers twist at the strap of her bag. Brenda gives a quick nod of her head, her eyes darting between Thomas and the open area of sand. “Cool.”

“We aren’t quite sure what we found,” Sonya pipes up, her dark eyes glittering with excitement. She shifts her weight impatiently. Harriet gives her a fond eye roll as she wanders over. “I wanted to explore but Brenda made me come back.” 

Thomas almost laughs at that statement and the excitement showing in every movement of her body. While Sonya looks like Newt, some things about her couldn’t be more different. 

“Are you two going out again?” Harriet asks, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend. Sonya leans readily into the touch.

“Yeah. We found something odd but Brenda made us come back and grab Thomas and let him know,” Sonya says, tilting her head to rest it on Harriet’s shoulder. Harriet’s dark gaze switches from Sonya to Thomas. He’s always felt uneasy around the leader of Group B. She held herself with a strength that comes with lots of hardship and pain—all of that Thomas helped cause through his work on the Maze.

“Are we ready to head out?” Brenda asks, tucking a dark cloth over her short hair. Her brown eyes meet Thomas’s, an old pain flickering in them. He knows how much she hates being in the Scorch but, every time, she’s the first one to volunteer to head out.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Thomas gives a short nod.

“Be safe,” Harriet whispers to Sonya, pressing a kiss to her cheek. Thomas looks away, his chest aching. He wishes Newt was here to give him a goodbye kiss and to welcome him back with open arms. 

The trek back to where Brenda and Sonya were takes a long time as the wind whips sand into their faces. Thomas tugs the cloth tighter around his face. The sun reaches its peak height in the sky by the time they make it there.

Brenda nudges a couple of things with her foot while Sonya explores the collection of scrap metal decorating the endless sand.

“It’s not here,” she says, staring up at Thomas. “Someone else must’ve gotten to it.”

“That sucks,” he says, stepping down carefully into a mess of metal. “Might’ve been useful.”

“Uh, guys, we’ve got somethin’ comin’ this way,” Brenda says, holding a hand above her eyes to keep the sunlight out. She points towards a storm cloud of dust. It’s too small to be a dust storm. Thomas stares at it, trying to figure out what it is.

“I don’t like the look of that,” Sonya says. “We should get out of here.”

“I agree,” Thomas responds. He helps Brenda up the slope before they start to hurry away from whatever is coming their way.

Thomas looks back but immediately regrets it. He trips over something and falls face-first into the blistering hot sand, which burns his face and hands as he tries to get back up. Sonya helps him up, looking over his shoulder. He can now see a bunch of people—likely Cranks. No one survives long in the Scorch unless they are a Crank or are a part of WICKED. Unfortunately, Thomas has seen both happen.

“Come _on_ , Thomas,” Sonya says, tugging on Thomas’s arm. “We have to go.”

They run but they aren’t fast enough. 

The first Crank throws itself at Thomas, throwing him to the ground. He looks up to see dark eyes and a veined face. Sharp teeth are bared as a gross liquid drips from the Cranks mouth.

“ _Thomas! _” Sonya shrieks. She turns to save him but Thomas tries to wave her away__

____

__

“Just go!” he responds. He refuses to let her die too.

“We aren’t leaving you,” Brenda responds firmly. Thomas hears something that sounds like the cocking of a gun before the Crank on top of him is sent flying. More take its place. Thomas can hear a high pitched scream from Sonya and another scream from Brenda. More gunshots echo through the world. The silence that follows each shot is beautiful until the snarling of the Cranks resumes. 

_Bang. Bang. Bang. ___

The world erupts into a chaos of snarls and gunshots. Thomas can barely tell where Brenda and Sonya are with the hoard of Cranks scratching at him.

He tries to fight the ones on top of him but, in their deranged, adrenaline-filled states, they overpower him easily. Their dirty nails dig into his skin and a dark liquid drips from their mouths, dying his clothes a dark color. He fights harder but they pin his arms to the ground. One has a knife, which he drags across Thomas's skin until he can feel a sharp sting. A dark red liquid bubbles up along the cut before racing itself down his arm. 

The knife disappears for a moment before finding its way into Thomas’s side. He lets loose a shout as the pain of being stabbed courses through his body. Thomas can barely keep his eyes open, let alone fight the Cranks holding him down.

A blonde figure pulls the Cranks off of him right as he closes his eyes. 

“Thomas? Tommy!” someone says, pressing cold fingers to his cheeks. Thomas wakes up, finding his head in someone’s lap. The harsh winds no longer race around him, howling their mournful songs. The sun beating down doesn't feel as hot and the sand doesn't burn his fingers.

“Newt?” he groans as a familiar boy leans over him. Newt’s brown eyes sparkle with relief as he smiles at Thomas. Thomas reaches up and touches Newt’s cheek, wondering if this is real. “Am I dead?”

“Not yet. If you come with me, you will be.” Newt strokes Thomas’s cheek with a feather-light touch. His voice is just as beautiful as Thomas remembers it. He doesn’t like the sorrow dripping from the older boy’s words, though. “Alby said you wouldn’t do it. Chuck said you would.”

“What did you say?” Thomas croaks. Newt looks away from Thomas. He realizes that the Cranks attacking him are gone, as are Sonya and Brenda. It’s just Newt and Thomas in this odd version of reality. He wants to stay here with Newt. Stay here away from all the people shouting at him for answers and all the Cranks hurting him and his friends. He just wants to escape reality.

“I said you’d follow your gut,” Newt says finally, answering Thomas's question. His eyes are sad as he looks back down at Thomas. “I don’t blame you, Tommy, and I never did so stop blaming yourself.” Newt continues stroking Thomas’s cheek, almost subconsciously. “You don’t have long to decide, Tommy.” Newt’s eyes plead with Thomas but he can’t figure out what Newt wants him to choose.

Thomas closes his eyes, thinking of Minho, Sonya, Brenda, and all the rest of the people counting on him to lead them. He supposes Minho or Harriet could take over but Thomas was the one who led these people to Paradise—suffered with them and tried to believe when no one else would. It would be unfair if he just left them because he got the chance to escape.

Thomas thinks of Alby, Chuck, Teresa, and all the other people who died giving Thomas a chance to survive. They shouldn’t have died, yet they did. It would be unfair of him to give up when they died just so he could live. Although, how could he truly live without Newt? Newt was his biggest supporter and always made sure Thomas kept going when he wanted to give up. Newt always gave Thomas a smile even when he couldn't spare one for himself. Newt wouldn't want this, though. He would rather Thomas lived, even if it meant Newt was left behind. 

“I’m sorry, Newt,” Thomas whispers, making his choice. Newt nods like he already knew.

“Don’t be sorry, love. You made the right choice.”

“Tell Chuck and Alby I’m sorry-”

“They don’t blame you,” Newt interrupts gently, moving his hand to Thomas’s hair. Thomas's eyes flutter shut as Newt's fingers comb through his hair. “You know they both wouldn’t want you to continue holding onto this blame you seem to love to place on yourself.”

“Tell them anyway. And, tell Teresa I forgive her. I’ve forgiven her for a while but I should have said something sooner. It was unfair of me. I know she was doing what she thought was right.” Newt nods, smiling softly. 

“I will. Tell Lizzie I love her and I’m so proud of her. She’s grown up to be the beautiful young woman I hoped she would become. I’m happy she found a companion in Harriet. They are perfect for each other.” Newt pauses, sucking in a deep breath. “And, tell Minho I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for him more. He was the best friend I could have ever asked for.”

“You should have lived,” Thomas whispers, tears streaming down his face. “You should have been the leader of our little gang. You should have been there for us all.” It sounds like Thomas is blaming Newt but they both know he’s really blaming himself. “I should have died inste-”

“Don’t you dare say that!” Newt’s eyebrows furrow in anger and sorrow. “I’m not mad you lived and I died. I’d prefer it this way. I was too broken for this world—too broken for you.”

“No. You were never too broken for me. I just wasn’t enough to fix you.”

“I never needed fixing, Tommy. All I needed was you.” Tears trickle down both boys’ faces as they stare at each other, silently saying the words they never could. Thomas almost changes his mind, almost decides to go with Newt but he doesn’t.

“Come back for me when it’s my turn, okay?” Thomas says, almost desperately. Newt nods, starting to fade away. “Don’t leave me, please. Please, don’t leave me. _Please, Newt, please. _” The words, an echo of the words that had changed both of their lives, echos between them. Thomas regrets saying it but doesn’t try to take the words back.__

“I’m never leaving, love, never.” Newt presses a soft kiss to Thomas’s forehead before disappearing with no sign he was never there.

“Thomas? Oh, thank God,” Sonya breathes when Thomas opens his eyes. “We thought you were dead.” Sonya’s brown eyes fill with tears. “I couldn’t lose another brother.” 

“I saw him,” Thomas whispers. “He says he loves you and is so proud of you.” Sonya’s face twists into a look of grief.

“I wish I could remember him.” Sonya chokes on a sob. “I wish I could have known him for longer.”

“I do too,” Thomas whispers. He puts his hand on his stomach, slightly surprised when there isn’t blood. He lifts up his shirt to see a strip of cloth bandaging the area where the knife would be. That’s when he notices a missing section along the bottom of Sonya’s shirt. He lets his shirt fall back down, staring up into the eyes so similar to the ones haunting his dreams.

“I miss him so much,” he whispers.

“You loved him.” It’s not a question. 

“Yeah, I did, still do.” Sonya smiles softly.

“You would have been really good for him. I’m sorry you guys never got to be together.” 

Thomas wants to object. They did get to be together. Long nights spent discussing their futures once they got out of the Maze. Nights where they would sleep hand in hand all because the nightmares got too bad. He doesn’t say any of that, though, choosing to stare out at the endless sea of sand. 

“I think I got rid of the last of ‘em,” Brenda says, walking up, the sun starting to set behind her. She stops when she sees the tears streaming down Sonya’s face. Her face darkens. “What happened?”

“I saw Newt,” Thomas whispers. Brenda looks at him in confusion. “He wasn’t one of the Cranks. I saw him when they were about to kill me. He pulled them off of me.” Sonya shakes her head, wiping at her tears.

“ _I _pulled them off of you,” she says. Thomas squeezes her hand in thanks, not sure how to form words. He was so sure it was Newt who saved him.  
“So, you saw Newt,” Brenda says softly.__

____

____

“He said I could go with him,” Thomas admits.

“Why didn’t you?” Sonya asks. 

“I wanted too but I couldn’t leave everyone behind. After all we worked for, I couldn’t just abandon everyone. And, after all the people who died so that I could live, it would be unfair for me to die. It would be unfair to Newt.” 

“You’re too good for us,” Brenda teases. Thomas laughs. 

“We should get back,” Sonya says, chewing on her lip. “It’s late and I don’t want Harriet to worry. I’m sure she’d send out a parade of people to come find us.”

“Find _you _,” Brenda corrects, sounding bitter. She crosses her arms across her chest. "Harriet could care less about us as long as you are safe." Sonya opens her mouth to argue.__

____

____

“But you’re right,” Thomas adds, cutting her off. "We do need to get back." Sonya helps him up, chewing on her lip as she thinks about what Brenda said.

The two of them slowly help Thomas back. The moon is already settling into its nightly path across the sky with the twinkling specks of light as its companions when they make it back.

Harriet races across the small bit of sand, wrapping Sonya in her arms. Brenda awkwardly continues to help Thomas to where Minho stands, looking angry. His dark hair is standing on end as if someone had run their fingers through it a bunch, and his arms are bunched tightly across his chest. Thomas smiles sheepishly at his best friend.

“What happened?” he hisses, taking Thomas from Brenda. Thomas practically falls into his friend's arms. After Newt’s death, Minho and Thomas had gotten a lot closer. At first, Minho blamed Thomas for what happened but, eventually, he let Thomas in again. That's what it probably reminded Minho of, Thomas realizes guiltily. He probably thought he lost another friend.

“Cranks,” Sonya says over Harriet’s shoulders in response to Minho's question. “Luckily Brenda had a gun with her otherwise we might not have made it back.” Minho’s grip on Thomas’s arm tightens slightly as he scowls.

“You’re lucky you made it back otherwise I’d kill you myself,” Minho says.

“I’m already half-dead, Minho. What’s the worst you can do?” Thomas jokes. Minho’s expression darkens. He tries to pull at Thomas’s shirt but the younger boy tries to squirm out of his grip. “Minho, I’m fine. Let me go, you shank.”

“Oh, gosh, you two are like an old married couple,” Brenda complains. “Yes, Thomas is injured. Look at his stomach. He got stabbed.”

“Is that where the other half of your shirt went?” Harriet asks Sonya with an amused tone. Sonya scowls as Harriet laughs. “I’m not saying I mind.” 

Minho forces Thomas’s shirt up until he can see the stab wound. A dark liquid slowly seeps through Sonya’s makeshift bandage. 

“Okay, we are going to get you some help,” Minho grumbles. “I can’t believe you managed to get taken down by Cranks.”

“Hey! There were a bunch of them. You try and fight off as many as we did, you shank!” Thomas retorts, nudging his friend. Minho rolls his eyes, guiding Thomas to the Medhut. A girl stands outside, hanging up strips of what looks like bandages. 

“My friend here is an idiot and needs some help,” Minho says as they get closer. The girl turns, her long pale hair rustling in the breeze. Her grey eyes study Thomas with an uninterested gaze. He tries to give her a friendly smile but she just ignores him. His face hurts so he quickly stops his attempt to smile.

“Let me see the wound,” she says in an unusually high-pitched voice that doesn’t match her at all. 

Thomas lifts up his shirt, wincing as her cold fingers pull back the fabric wrapped around his stomach. She gently pushes the area around the wound. A bit of blood comes out, making Thomas feel nauseous. Ever since Newt’s death, the sight of blood makes him feel uneasy—almost ill if there was enough of it.

“It won’t kill you,” she says finally, pulling her hand away. “Let me wrap it up so it doesn’t get infected. And I'll get you something for those burns. They look nasty. Next time try _not _falling in the sand, why don't you?” A hint of a smile graces her lips.__

____

____

“Thanks...” Thomas says awkwardly. He feels bad for not knowing her name.

“Luna,” she says. “My name is Luna.” Her grey eyes stare into Thomas’s blue eyes. “Let me go get some bandages for you.”

“Someone has the hots for you,” Minho teases with a low whistle.

“Nah,” Thomas responds, shaking his head. “Even if she did, I couldn’t.”

“Man, you have to stop blaming yourself for that. It wasn’t your fault. Newt asked you to do it and, while I wished it never happened, it is what it is and you can’t change that.” Minho claps Thomas on the shoulder. “He wouldn’t want you blaming yourself like this.”

“I know.” Thomas doesn’t want to tell Minho about his encounter with Newt but he does anyway. The older boy is quiet through the whole tale, only interrupting to ask if Newt looked okay. Thomas quickly assured him that, yes, yes he did. He quietly relays Newt’s message to Minho, not pausing even when Luna returns with a bandage that she carefully wraps around Thomas’s waist. She pushes a jar into his hands, listening quietly to his tale.

“I think you're crazy,” Minho says quietly, his voice quivering with unshed tears. He storms off, his shoulders tense with anger. Thomas watches him go. 

“I don’t think you’re crazy,” Luna says quietly. Thomas half-smiles, not sure what to think of that. “Sometimes spirits do come back, usually to heal something broken. In this case, Newt came back to heal your broken heart. He probably feels guilty or something.”

“I don’t know if that could ever be healed,” Thomas replies. Luna laughs.

“Oh, you’d be surprised.” Thomas wonders who visited Luna for her to believe this strongly about it. “My sister,” she says before he can ask. “I wish I could have saved her but I didn’t get the chance.” Luna’s cold fingers rest against Thomas’s stomach for a moment. “Don’t blame yourself for the time you lost, instead, remember the time you had.”

“Thank you,” Thomas whispers. Luna gives him a small nod before returning to her hut. He watches her go, wondering how he never met her before. She seems familiar, almost like a long lost family member.

Thomas shakes his head, searching for something to do.

* * *

It didn’t take long before Minho was speaking to Thomas again, begging for every detail of his encounter with Newt, which Thomas happily supplied. The four of them, Minho, Sonya, Thomas, and Luna grew closer as time passed by and people came and went. No matter what happened, they were Thomas's constant, his rock when things got tough.

Harriet stood by Sonya’s side no matter what happened. She helped Sonya when she got sick and Sonya in turn helped Harriet when she got sick. Eventually, the two got married at a small ceremony by the beach. Sonya had looked beautiful in an old dress, her hair was half up half down. Harriet had worn an old suit they had managed to put together. Minho had officiated the wedding—which might not have been the best idea but everyone had a lot of fun. 

A couple of years later they adopted a small curly-haired boy that had been found abandoned in the middle of the Scorch. They named him Newt. The boy listened to every story of his namesake, eagerly awaiting each story every night until he was left with repeats. His favorite storyteller was Thomas, who always spoke with such love and adoration for the boy he had loved so much. 

Minho eventually found someone as well, to everyone's surprise. A skinny boy named Gabe had been adopted into the group and Minho instantly took a liking to him—especially once Gabe started sassing Minho back. They never got married but they stayed together, happy and in love for the rest of their lives, bossing everyone around together. 

Luna fell in love with a red-head named Gina she had met when on a trip out into the Scorch. They had taken to each other like fish to water. Thomas was unsure, at first, but eventually welcomed Gina into their little group. They, like Gabe and Minho, never got married but they lived happily and for a long time. Gina's son, Richard, became like Luna's son. She spoiled the boy and was always there for him.

It would be unfair to say Thomas never loved again. He did. He loved each child brought into the world by his slowly growing family. He loved every person who joined and still loved the ones who left. He never fell in love again, though, which he didn’t mind. Sometimes, when the nights were long and lonely, he would feel a warm weight at his side. When he would look, there would be no one there but he knew who it was. Sometimes, words would reach him, just a whisper of breath past Thomas’s ear, the most common being _I love you _. Newt kept his promise, he never left.__

____

____

He also was there when Thomas took his last breath, a hint of a smile on his face as Thomas took his hand. 

“Minho, I’m fine,” Thomas manages to say, his chest heaving up and down as he attempts to suck in a breath of air. He isn’t as fast as he used to be and, unfortunately, a Crank managed to stab him. 

“You are not fine, you liar,” Luna says as she tries to stop the bleeding. She pulls back a blood-soaked cloth, quickly replacing it with a new one. "You aren't allowed to die yet, you stupid shank."

“Is he going to be okay?” Newt asks, the little boy leaning over Thomas. A hazy figure stands next to him—it’s the older Newt. 

“It’s okay, little bud,” Thomas croaks, smiling at both of them. He takes the younger Newt’s hand and gives it a small squeeze. “I’m going to be with Uncle Newt, now.” The boy’s light up with excitement at the name before dimming as he realizes the consequences of what’s about to happen. Thomas almost feels bad but he can see Newt a little bit better now. He’s lived this long without Newt and he’s not sure he can do it for much longer.

“No, you aren’t allowed to die yet,” Minho says firmly, squeezing Thomas’s other hand. His hand is warm compared to Thomas’s cold hand. “I don’t care how badly Newt wants you, I’m not ready to lose both of you yet.” Gabe stands by his side, squeezing his shoulders. Both men have tears in their eyes that they quickly wipe away. Thomas blinks back his own tears.

“Sorry, Min,” Thomas whispers. "But it's my time. I'll miss you." Minho squeezes Thomas's hand in response. Thomas squeezes back, turning to look at Newt again. Newt’s figure gets clearer as everyone else starts to get hazier. 

“We’re losing him,” Luna warns, her grey eyes narrowed in worry and frustration. She runs a hand through her hair before returning to trying to bandage the wound. Thomas can barely feel her pressing on his chest. He closes his eyes, only opening them again when he feels warm fingers on his cheek. 

“Come on, love, it’s time to go,” Newt whispers. Thomas sits up, taking Newt’s hand. He looks back. It’s odd seeing his body just lying there. The same face he’s seen so many times in water puddles is attached to a body he’s seen but never really seen. 

“Am I bad for leaving them behind?” Thomas asks, watching as Minho discreetly wipes a tear away. Sonya and Harriet stand together, Sonya sobbing into Harriet’s shoulder. Their son takes both of his mom’s hands, tears streaming down his face.

“No. It’s time. Plus, we are all waiting for you,” Newt responds, cupping Thomas’s cheek. “Are you ready?” Thomas looks behind once more at his family before giving a small nod. Newt gently leads him away. 

Everything starts to glow with a soft light as they walk further away from everyone. Thomas blinks as everything changes to a long, open field, just like the Glade back in the Maze except there are no walls keeping everyone in. 

“You’re here!” Chuck shouts, wrapping his arms around Thomas. He looks exactly the same as he did when Thomas first met him. His eyes are bright and his hair is an unruly mess on top of his head.

“Yeah, I’m here, Chuck,” Thomas responds. He stares out at the new Glade.

“Welcome home, Greenie,” Alby says, giving Thomas a hug. For once, Thomas doesn’t hate being called Greenie.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really not sorry for any of that.


End file.
